STEM Skills and Connections
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills and connections are integrated into all units in the course. Through scientific research, experimentation, and engineering design processes, students will conduct investigations, design solutions to problems, and communicate findings while discovering practical applications that pertain to science and technology. Students will make practical connections between the knowledge students gain and real-world issues in science and technology. Students will also analyse the contributions made by First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities as their knowledge has led to the creation of Indigenous scientific and technical systems.
Habitats and Communities
In the Habitats and Communities Unit, students will learn how plants and animals are interdependent and rely on their habitats for the necessities of life. Students will describe the relationships of organisms in a food chain, and classify organisms as producers, consumers, or decomposers. Students will also describe animals as carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores. Students will create a habitat and record changes in the community. Students will also analyse the impact of depletion or extinction and assess impacts of human activities on natural habitats and communities.
Light and Sound
In the Light and Sound Unit, students will learn how light and sound are forms of energy with specific properties. Students will learn how sound is created by vibrations and how light is required to see. Students will build a device that uses the properties of light and sound. Students will also understand how technological innovations involving light and sound have impacts on society and the environment.
Machines and Their Mechanisms
In the Machines and Mechanisms unit, students will describe how different types of motion are transferred between systems and how mechanisms change the speed and direction of motion. Students will explain how forces are changed in a variety of machines. Students will identify machines used in daily life, identify the parts of various machines, and describe their purposes. Then, students will design, build, and test a pulley or gear system. Students will assess the impacts of machines and their mechanisms on people’s daily lives and compare the environmental impacts of machines.
Rocks, Minerals, and Geological Processes
In the Rocks, Minerals, and Geological Processes Unit, students will learn how rocks and minerals have unique characteristics and properties resulting from how they were formed. Students will learn how the properties of rocks and minerals determine society’s possible uses for them. Students will also start to understand how our use of rocks and minerals affects the environment. Students will also describe how fossils are formed and the information that fossils can provide about Earth’s history.
Coding
In the Coding unit, students will identify and describe how technology uses different types of output for various purposes in everyday life. Students will also write and execute code that meets a specific purpose.
